Confirmation Mass in St Francis, Jebel Ali - Homily of Bp Paolo

It is a very beautiful tradition that during the pastoral visit the Bishop administers confirmation to the faithful who are prepared for the sacrament. It is a very significant tradition because the Bishop is the successor of the Apostles and is called to do as the Apostles did after Pentecost. After receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, they passed on the same gift to all believers through the laying on of hands and the anointing on their foreheads.

I now wish to greet first of all those who are about to receive this sacrament which completes Christian initiation. I greet parents, Godparents, relatives, and friends. I greet the sponsors who will present the candidates to the Bishop. I also greet with gratitude the catechists who prepared these young people to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today is a very beautiful day to receive confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit. In fact, we are in the days of Easter, in which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus: he has conquered evil and death and remains among us forever. Today is the day of divine mercy. Let's celebrate God's love that is stronger than our evil.

As we heard in the Gospel, the gift of the Holy Spirit is profoundly linked to the Paschal mystery. Jesus died and rose again to be able to give us the Holy Spirit. The gospel tells us about a first appearance of Jesus: pay attention to his first words. He says to his disciples: Peace be with you. The greeting of peace is the greeting of Easter. We Christians are called to be peacemakers.

Furthermore, Jesus has a very strong expression that also directly affects our lives: As the Father has sent me, so I send you. This means that he calls us to participate in his mission in the world. Immediately afterwards Jesus says: receive the Holy Spirit. Why does Jesus give the Holy Spirit? Because we must participate in Jesus' mission of bringing the Gospel to everyone, each according to his personal vocation.

Dear ones, you are already united with the risen Jesus because you have received Baptism and are already members of the people of God. Baptism has communicated to us the divine life and the fundamental Christian vocation, the vocation to be saints, to love and to be loved. For this reason, it is important to always remember that we are all baptized and baptism unites us, makes us one Church. Baptism is not just a gift we received in the past, when we were very little. Every day we must rediscover of being baptized, new creatures, children of God! I invite everyone to remember your baptism and I hope you also remember the date you were baptized. Every year I invite you to celebrate not only your birthday but also the day you were baptized.

Today with confirmation what began on the day of baptism is completed in you, Christian initiation is completed, that is, this path that introduced you to the mysteries of our Christian faith. From today the Church expects a greater commitment from you in the life of the parish, in the various services and ministries. In fact, the gift of the Holy Spirit makes you capable of living the Christian life more intensely.

Furthermore, with the gift of the Holy Spirit you will be able to better understand your life. In fact, Jesus wants to make you participants in his mission in the world. What is the mission that Jesus has prepared for you? With the help of the Holy Spirit, you will have to discover your particular vocation. I am convinced that some of you will be called by Jesus to become a priest, or a consecrated person and will be capable of doing very great things, as Saint Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa of Calcutta did. Some of you will become a great missionary and will go around the world to bring the Gospel where Jesus is not yet known. Many of you will receive the vocation to form a family, such an important mission.

Dear friends, each of you is unique and unrepeatable. You are not on earth by chance. You are the fruit of God's thought and desire. God has a very beautiful plan for each of us. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, you are now called to discover it and respond to God's call.

There is one final condition for you to live your life as a vocation and mission. The Gospel tells us that at the first appearance of Jesus, the Apostle Thomas was absent. When the disciples met him, he didn't believe their testimony and so he remained sad all week, while the others were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. After a week Jesus appears again and finally Thomas also sees him and believes. But Jesus rebukes him because he did not believe the words of his friends. This is why I tell you that, to meet Jesus and discover what your mission, you must be united and live the life of a united parish intensely. Together you will discover the plan that God has for each of you. Never alone but always together.

Now I invoke the Holy Spirit upon you. Open your hearts and joyfully welcome God's gift. We pray to Our Lady of Arabia and Saint Francis of Assisi to intercede for you. May the Lord complete in you what he began on the day of your baptism. Be witnesses of the joy of the resurrection. The Lord is Risen, he is truly risen, Hallelujah